Self-Service Survey Data Export

In February, WorkStep released the capability for users with specific permissions to generate an export of survey data directly from the WorkStep platform.

Access to Self-Service Survey Data Export

Permissions & Abilities

Access to this feature is typically limited to a small subset of users. WorkStep recommends that only All Access Admins who require access to frequent data exports be granted the ability to export survey data.

Any admin can grant the ability to 1) view the Data Export tab in the Settings page and 2) the ability to view (and use) the Generate Data Export button.

In order to enable self-service survey data export, existing customers should reach out to their Account Team. For all new customers moving forward, permissions will be managed during Implementation and Launch.

Self-Service Data Export Features

Data Export Tab

For users who are granted access, a new “Data Exports” tab will appear within the “Settings” page of the platform. If a user does not have the ability to see or generate export data, this tab will not be visible.

The data export tab includes a table of exports in progress, exports available for download and expired exports as well as the “Generate Export” button. The table includes columns for file name, date and time requested, and the download status.

Generating an Export

To generate a new export, users must navigate to the “Data Export’ tab and click the “Generate Export” button.

From there, users will be prompted to select the survey results they wish to export. For users with access to Point in Time surveys, they are able to select Point in Time surveys. If a user doesn’t have access to Point in Time surveys, they will not see this option. Users are not able to select more than one survey type in the same export. 

If the user selects Point in Time Surveys:

• The user is able to select the specific Point in Time Survey they wish to export; no time range is offered as WorkStep will always export the full results of the survey selected

For any other type of survey:

• The user is able to select the type of Continuous Survey: Milestone, Always On, Exit
• The user is able to select the time range for the results of the survey they want to export (the export defaults to the last 180 days)
• The user is able to select one, multiple or all of the surveys within a particular survey type
  
  

Users are able to filter the data by attributes prior to request the export and are required to title the export. A default title will be populated but users are able to edit.

Once the selections have been made, the user clicks “Generate’ and the export begins to process. Users may request multiple reports at one time - the exports will queue up and process.

Once the export is ready, the user will receive an email notification. The user must log into the platform to access the export. Any export that has been previously requested will be available on the Data Export tab for that user to continue to download for the next 30 days. 30 days after an export has been requested, the download button will be disabled and the user would need to generate a new export in order to download the data. 

If an export fails, the user will receive an email notification notifying them that it failed and they will need to try again.

Two-Factor Authentication 

Users will be required to go through two-factor authentication prior to downloading any file they’ve generated. This will happen every time an export is generated and cannot be disabled.

When a user selects the export icon, a dialog will appear prompting them to confirm their identity. Users will click the ‘SEND CODE’ button in the dialog. This will trigger an email to the address associated with the user’s account with a 6-digit code. Once the code has been validated, the user will have access to the tab for the next hour. 

Data Export Format

The data export format is not customizable. The default data export format is CSV “Long” format, which displays a row for every answer. The fields in the export are always the same, regardless of the survey selections made or the filters applied when generating the export. 

Users export the data as a zip file, with two CSV files in it. Each CSV file corresponds to a different module. The two modules included in every export are “Sends” and “Responses’. If the CSV for either module is more than 500k rows, WorkStep will automatically break the file up into multiple files so that users may open using their program of choice (Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers etc).

The file name is in the following format: 

• workstep_export_export_title_YYYYMMDD_UserID_export#.zip
  • survey_responses_YYYYMMDD_UserID.csv
  • survey_sends_YYYYMMDD_UserID.csv

Sends Module

• The Sends module includes the following columns: employee_identifier, survey_send_identifier, survey_title, survey_type, milestone, a column for each attribute, time_sent, time_first_answered, time_completed
• The Sends module includes one row for each survey send

Responses Module

• Responses module includes the following columns: employee_identifier, survey_send_identifier, survey_title, survey_type, milestone, a column for each attribute, theme, question_text, value, follow_up, follow_up_response, time_created
• Responses module includes one row for each response

Data Included in the Export

Every data export includes 2 modules, delivered in two files in the download:

• Responses
• Sends

The below tables indicate what data and/or calculations are possible with each module, as well as what data is not included in either module.

These two modules enable users to calculate common WorkStep metrics, and perform commonly requested data analysis. A sample of some of the calculations and analysis possible are listed below:

Non-survey data is not included in either module in the survey data export. The following table explicitly outlines what data points are not available in the survey data exports: